Heading Home ~ Owen Heaton

This year, the Fenn ninth grade is taking a bigger role in community service. We are doing this by participating in The Jefferson Awards Foundation which is a program that guides us through the steps of how to make a better world and then to make a final presentation and essay on how we helped make our community a better place. When we were told about this project, most of the grade didn’t respond well and refused to help, but after this winter conference, it changed almost everyone’s minds.

“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” Bertrand Russell. For me, good is helping someone in need without drawing attention to yourself. For example, if you are going around helping people to only get compliments then you are only seeking pleasure for yourself, but if you walk by someone who drops their groceries or something and you turn around to help them, then that’s good. Good could also be translated as improving someone’s state of being. This could be by donating food to someone, or to an organization that distributes the food. Another example is donating clothes or mattresses to families in need of them. Overall good can be many things, but they all come from the same root, not drawing attention to yourself.

One good memory is when I was at Heading Home. It was a cold sunny day in the Boston area. My brother, my mom, and I were pulling up to a parking spot almost right next to the Uhaul truck full of furniture and utilities. We were a little late so I ran out of the car and joined the meeting of how the day is going to pan out. We had two hours for furniture and cleaning and then the homeless family is not homeless anymore.

Our first step was to clean the apartment on the third floor of a tight staircase. I bought cleaning supplies for the windows, so I and a couple friends power washed the windows while other cleaned the kitchen and bedrooms. We also had a quick doughnut break after cleaning.

The furniture was up next and the group of five I was in was assigned to the girl’s room, who was five I think. We first brought up the bed frame and rugs which were a breeze and began to put that together while other finalized cleaning the dressers people donated. We then brought up the mattress which took really long because the staircase was so tight. Since this girl liked ballerinas and pink we covered her walls with some stickers of them. We put some books in her room as well as many hangers for her closet and pink covers for her bed.

At the end of the day, when the family came walking in, I felt so proud of myself. Seeing the family start to cry in joy, and the two kids bounce up and down, almost made me cry. I learned that day, that everything you do has an impact on at least someone else.